Erling Haaland’s winning goal in Man City vs Man United derby wrongly allowed after an ‘error of judgement,’ confirms Pro Ref

Erling Haaland stole the spotlight on Sunday afternoon by scoring the match-winning goal for Manchester City to secure three points in the Manchester derby against Manchester United. However, following an extensive post-match review, Pro Ref confirmed that the goal was incorrectly allowed due to an “error of judgment” by the officiating crew.

On Sunday, September 13, Manchester United hosted Manchester City at Old Trafford for Matchday 4 of the 2026-27 Premier League season. City faced early adversity when referee Michael Oliver issued a straight red card to Phil Foden in the 23rd minute following a high kick to Bruno Fernandes’ midsection.

Despite playing a man down, City continued to go toe-to-toe with United, and in the 60th minute, Josko Gvardiol delivered a cross that took a slight deflection off Patrick Dorgu before finding Haaland at the far post to volley past Senne Lammens. Although the assistant referee initially flagged Haaland for offside, a two-minute VAR check overturned the call on the field to award the goal, ultimately sealing the victory for City.

The controversy intensified in the aftermath with vocal complaints from United’s side and across media outlets, prompting Pro Ref (Professional Game Match Officials), the body responsible for Premier League refereeing, to issue a clarifying statement. The organization concluded that the incident required an on-field monitor review by the head referee.

Pro Ref’s official statement

Pro Ref released the following statement addressing the ruling: “Following the incident in the 60th minute of Sunday’s Premier League fixture between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford, we can provide clarification regarding Erling Haaland’s awarded goal. The on-field decision was offside against Erling Haaland – that was checked by VAR and he was found to be in an onside position.“

The official review focused on Enzo Fernandez’s positioning and his influence on Lisandro Martinez’s defensive tracking. “In the same attack, it was established that Enzo Fernandez did not play the ball and therefore that makes any offside offence subjective, however, on this occasion, the VAR did not recognise the likely impact of his position and should have recommended an on-field review. Contact has been made with Manchester United this evening to acknowledge what we deem is an error of judgement. A review of the incident will take place,” the statement concluded.

The IFAB on offside ruling

The Pro Ref statement centered on Enzo Fernandez’s involvement, evaluating how the midfielder, positioned in an offside stance, made a movement toward Gvardiol’s cross that forced defender Lisandro Martinez to alter his recovery line. Officials acknowledged that Fernandez’s impact on the play warranted a full review rather than focusing exclusively on Haaland’s position.

While Fernandez made no contact with the ball, IFAB offside regulations explicitly define interference in such scenarios. Under Law 11.2, a player in an offside position is penalized for “clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent, or making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball.“

Lisandro Martinez on Enzo Fernandez’s offside

Despite the lack of physical contact with the ball, the primary argument remains that Fernandez’s offside position directly altered Martinez’s defensive movement while attempting to challenge the cross. “It was offside. I can’t understand the rules. He was there in front of me, and that’s why Haaland was free at the back,” Martinez told Sky Sports after the game.

The defender subsequently voiced frustration regarding pre-season refereeing briefings and overall officiating standards across the league. “Every season they come to talk to the club, explain the rules for one and a half hours, and then after, five or six people doing this kind of mistake in the Premier League it’s unacceptable, because it’s the best league in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice,” he concluded.